Jen-Ho Tseng, a pitcher from Taiwan, threw to Taylor Davis, a catcher from Jupiter, Fla., on Thursday at Wrigley Field, just 12 days removed from when they last appeared in a game together while wearing uniforms for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa.

Tseng was making his major-league debut. Davis, with two pinch-hit appearances on his big-league resume going into Thursday, was making his first start on a day that began with the Cubs clinging to a 2 1/2-game lead in the National League Central.

An experiment that didn’t begin well against the Mets ended with the Cubs on top 14-6, their lead in the Central intact at three games over both the Cardinals, who are in town for a three-game series this weekend, and the Brewers, who just swept three games from the Cubs last weekend.

“I think the battery had, you know, that 'never-let-them-see-you-sweat moment?’ -- actually, we did,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said before praising both. “I love Taylor and I thought Jen-Ho showed me great carry on his fastball. Love his changeup. Good curveball.”

Tseng was tagged with an error when he dropped Anthony Rizzo’s throw on a groundball after he slipped while covering first base. Later in the inning he hit Dominic Smith in the knee with a pitch.

The beginning of the second inning wasn’t much better. Amed Rosario began with a single and stole second. After he scored on Reyes’ single to give the Mets a 2-0 lead, Davis dropped Javier Baez’s relay throw on Brandon Nimmo’s double, allowing Reyes to touch home safely.

By the time the third inning was over, with Tseng having struck out six against one walk while allowing five runs and five hits, Maddon had seen enough of the newbies.

The decision to start the Tseng and Davis was discussed among Maddon, Cubs President Theo Epstein, GM Jed Hoyer and others in the organization.

“It wasn’t exactly according to plan, but it’s trusting the people you work with,” Maddon said of starting Tseng and Davis. “Everybody was on board with the decision. Maybe not everybody wants to do something when you make a decision, but when you make a decision everybody needs to jump on board. That’s what we did.”

There was some good news for both Tseng and Taylor.

Taylor recorded his first big-league hit, officially scored a single to the catcher. It was the result of a 20-foot accident he managed to leg out in the second inning. Though the Javier Baez scored on the play, an RBI wasn’t attached to the hit because of an error on the play by the Mets.

“I’m a speedster now,” Davis joked.

Tseng followed with an RBI groundout to tie the score 3-3.

But both were gone not long after their nerves were.

“It was a lot to take in, your first start in Wrigley for both of us,” Davis said. “I’m glad I was able to do it and able to do it with somebody I knew.

“We were both very nervous. I misplayed that ball at the plate. The ball he threw behind Reyes. Everybody was nervous. I think it kind of settled down after that.”